Some of the top wrestling teams in Maryland – Mount Saint Joseph, private school state champs; Damascus, 4A/3A public school state champs; and Glenelg – and Delaware state champs, Sussex Central, will be participating.

Mount Saint Joseph won War on the Shore last year. Damascus came in second, followed by Sussex Central.

Tournament matches will take place on five mats – two in both the main gym and cafeteria and one in the school’s smaller gym.

“Expect to see some of the top wrestlers from several states. There will probably be five to seven state-ranked kids per weight class,” Todd Martinek, Decatur coach and tournament organizer, said. “It’s the best of the best. It will probably be harder than the state tournament – depending on the weight class – because of the competition. You have teams from other states, from public and private schools.”

For Decatur to be successful, Martinek said the Seahawks must be able to “stay in the match, try not to get pinned, wrestle smart and be in good shape.”

Martinek said facing tough competition would be a good test for his grapplers.

“If they can place at this tournament, they can place at states,” Martinek said. “For the team, placing top eight is the goal. I’d like to see six or seven place [in their weight classes]. If we can do that, then it was an outstanding tournament.”

Matches are slated to begin at 3 p.m. today, Friday, and action will run until about 10 p.m. Competition will start at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Weight class finals for third/fourth and first/second place are scheduled to kick off at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. The top five wrestlers in each weight class will take home awards.

In addition to the varsity tournament, about 20 teams are slated to participate in a junior varsity competition on Saturday. Altogether, War on the Shore will include about 450 grapplers, ranging from state champions to first-year participants.

The cost for spectators is $10 per day or $15 for a tournament pass. The results will be available live online at www.trackwrestling.com. Click on “Events,” then “Search Events” and type in “War on the Shore.”